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This is the first time I've ever heard this song. It's a combination of gospel and blues, if that's really a distinction. Can't say I like it. This strikes me as field slave coping music! Granted we needed this back in the day. But it ain't groovy or nothing! 😀 I think the 80s was the most perfect age of music. I wish time stood still in that decade. It was the first decade of the 20th century without war or recession; and the music reflected that. Lots of fun, heartwarming, unity music from the 80s. But the 70s was the last decade for true black creative music, meaning when black people wrote, produced and performed MUSIC. Janice–Marie Johnson and Perry Kibble (Taste of Honey) are so sexy playing the guitar and bass guitar in "Boogie Oogie Oogie." I love disco and funk so much because they were so US...so groovy and so soul-cleansing. Black people writing, producing and creating music was the norm in the 1970s. We played and perfected every instrument. Rap and vocals overall took over music in the 1980s. @Maurice if you've never seen it, you will appreciate this Jimmy Hendrix interview on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969. We'll never see another Hendrix. We'll never see another 70s or 80s either. Both decades are essentially considered politically incorrect these days. All those 80s odes to women by men, and women singing odes to men will never happen again. This society doesn't want men loving women and women loving men anymore. Whitney Houston's first great song, "All At Once," didn't even chart in the USA in 1985. But itt was top 5 in Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. I think this is Whitney's greatest song of all time! Don't get me going on music though! LOL!

It's the Lipstick forum in general. I just don't really feel its my bag really though Troy did mention that it has a literature section. My reply wasn't aimed at you personally at all. Honestly.

@Troy, I'm confident none of those cities are as provincial as Pittsburgh, but I was trying to avoid using that word. You cut to the chase, lol. I visited some friends in ATL and had a blast, but I don't think I can live there, for the reasons you gave. Plus, I've heard the dating scene is abysmal, for black women. And to answer your question, I don't see swirling in my future, lol. Thanks for profile! I will email you the rest.

Check out all 40 books nominated for a 2020 NAACP Image Award in the following eight literature categories; Biography/Autobiography, Children, Debut Author, Fiction, Instructional, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Youth/Teens. There was a time when the titles on this list were quite controversial as they tended to skew heavily toward celebrity book. The choices are much better, nowadays but skew to folks willing to pony up the entry fee. There are many great books from 2019 not on this list for that reason. There were also some odd choices like like the book, More Than Pretty: Doing the Soul Work That Uncovers Your True Beauty, by Erica Campbell being nominated in two categories (debut author and instructional). Nominees should be restricted to one category unless they are phenomenal books. I'll go out on a limb and say I doubt More Than Pretty is a phenomenal books. I also think the nominees should be Black unless they have written something that speaks substantively to Black people. Two bios on Prince is one too many and not another book on Dr. King... At any rate, I'm glad to see Black literature being celebrated. This is perhaps the highest profile event for Black books in the country. The Image Awards were also sponsors of AALBC this year, so I really can't complain all. In fact, that is the only reason I put in the effort to cover all 40 books -- I would have just covered the winners otherwise. Several of these authors would never have been added to the site were it not for their Image Award nomination.

@FerociousKitty, NYC is really no longer a place for artists. It is simply too expensive. I'll be in Ft Lauderdale this weekend, but I prefer Tampa which is a much larger city. I've been to the other cities you mentioned many times and enjoy visiting them. I could live in any of them. Outside of NY, LA, Chicago and maybe DC, the rest of the cities are pretty similar all the same they tend to be somewhat provincial, but are getting better as they attract more people from larger cities. If you can live in Pittsburgh you can adapt to life in any of the cities you mentioned and enjoy better weather. @Mel Hopkins can give you some feedback on ATL. It is indeed a chocolate city but is very spread out and traffic going downtown is a nightmare, so many people hang out in the in their local suburban communities which are all starting to look the same to me with the same chain restaurants, stores, etc. The real estate is inexpensive if you want a big house. As far as the dating scene, I have no idea which city is ideal for that. Admittedly, men generally have an advantage in this regard. Have you considered "swirling?" 😍 Austin Texas seems to be popping, but getting expensive pushing people out to the suburbs which is happening in many cities. Even downtown Raleigh is expensive I just started a profile for you this morning: https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Deesha+Philyaw You can send me a bio, headshoot, and link to audio or video (youtube) you might have.

Yes I'm in Tampa FL @FerociousKitty. I purchased a place here in 2011 and have been living here full-time since 2017. I actually live in the suburbs (not downtown). It is actually the "country" by my NYC standards. I can see raptor birds, alligator, fox, deer, cranes, turtles, snakes all in the same day from my back yard. As far as pros and cons it really depends on what you want and where you are coming from. I was born and raised in NYC, but I always preferred the south it is quieter, less expensive, cleaner, better weather. Unless you have some serious paper living in NYC is very stressful. The downside for me is the Black middle class is small and somewhat insular. Still I'm building a network of book people and friends. I've known two Black women who moved here and hated it. They found it difficult to meet people -- especially men. This is a common refrain for single middle aged women, but I imagine this is true in many places. As far as seeking professional help after our breakup I did not do that, because I'm a man. Seriously, I have great friends who were super supportive. By the time the ex made it cyrstal clear that she did not love me or want to have anything to do with my website I was happy to be free of her. The kids were grown and out the house, I already had the place in Tampa, so the transition was relatively easy. That's the condensed version, of course the full story is more complicated than what I've just related. I'm assuming there is an Author Profile for you on the site FK, if not send me your info troy@aalbc.com

Agreed, @Troy. Divorce--like money, politics, and religion--is one of those things many of us were raised not to discuss, but we should discuss it more often. I think there's also a degree of shame associated with it. Not treating it like some deep dark secret or a personal failing can go a long way in destigmatizing it. That would help more women to not feel like they have to stay in bad situations, and it would help more men thrive after divorce. Women typically fare worse than men financially after divorce, but men fare worse by almost every other measure, mostly because they have fewer social supports, are less likely to seek professional help for depression, and are more likely to die by suicide (related to the depression). I don't do any writing related to co-parenting and divorce anymore these days, but for almost a decade that was my "brand." So I still have all those stats in my head. Which brings us back to doe. Big Social was (is) great for building a brand in order to attract traditional publishers for a book deal. And unless you were established before the rise of social media, many publishers and agents require writers to have a platform/following before they will even consider them. So that's what I did for our co-parenting book--build a platform. It was a full-time job. My next book is a completely different genre, and now I don't feel the same pressure to "be/build a brand." I'm going to have to continue to be present on social to promote the book, but it's a different kind of engagement now. I've changed, the platforms have changed, how people engage has changed. And I don't feel anywhere near the same pressure as I felt with the first book. In other news, did I read correctly somewhere in here that you are now in Tampa? I'm looking to relocate in 2022, and Tampa is among the cities folks have encouraged me to consider. What do you find to be the pros and cons of living there?

I read the Nation's article and was outraged, but not surprised. Some damning quotes; Jared Kushner’s real-estate business obtained arrest warrants for 105 former tenants since 2013, resulting in 22 debtors’ going to jail. Hundreds of these arrest warrants can be rubber-stamped by judges in a single day. You already know the complexion of those thrown in jail... And of course these are traditionally the most vulnerable members of society, disproportionately black and brown, bearing the brunt of this perversion of the law. The impact doesn’t just include a couple weeks in jail but lost wages, potential lost employment, scrambles for childcare, the burden of a criminal record, and the psychological stress and humiliation of being locked up for being poor. Corporations are literally trying to bring back slavery and our government is perfectly complicit... like the last time.

What is "perihelion"? I could search for it but no search engine would tell me why you wished me a happy one (smile) . MLK jr day isn't on my radar this year. Sometimes I'm moved by his message but this year I'm interested in other species - and how they are dealing with mother nature.

You're not wrong there. Sometimes,I'm sitting there with a particular album on and I think how lucky I am. A real and authentic age of music. This baby arrived less than a week ago and I'm giving it its first airing right now. WOW.

@Maurice Oh yes! Sometimes when I listen to some of that music, I feel as though I wish that time would just stand still... For me, that time period was like a golden age of music-- so free spirited.